The US Department of Defense tests drones in Alaska, as part of an effort to promote innovation of electronic warfare and overcome regulatory and technological obstacles.
The initiative is led by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), with the aim of providing companies, especially smaller ones, a real opportunity to try autonomous systems in a hostile simulated environment. Projects such as GI and Long-Range Strike Group have been created to accelerate the introduction of new technologies in the armed forces and facilitate the testing process, which is often obstructed by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) requirements and military restrictions.
Originally, Ukraine was considered an ideal test area because it had practical combat experience with drones. However, logistical difficulties and diplomatic tensions prevented the United States from official support for these operations. Nevertheless, some well -funded American startups have successfully tested equipment on the Ukrainian front line. Since there were no viable alternatives, Alaska was chosen as a domestic solution, which offers more favorable airspace and less disturbing factors and more flexible testing.
Practices implemented by the 11th Special Operations Battalion found that most of the electronic warfare systems used by the United States are outdated, has been in use for more than twenty years and is ineffective against modern threats. Nevertheless, the team managed to improve performance, especially in the GNSS signaling scenarios.
However, this progress does not obscure technological backlogs against major powers such as China and Russia, which have invested more aggressively into available and efficient solutions on the battlefield.
Source: Sputnik | Photo: x @usirforce | This content was created with artificial intelligence and inspected by the editorial team
